golden hour

UK/ˈɡəʊl.dən ˌaʊə/US/ˈɡoʊl.dən ˌaʊɚ/

noun

The first sixty minutes after sustaining major traumatic injury, during which there is the highest likelihood that prompt medical treatment will prevent death.

Meanings

noungolden hour (plural golden hours)

plural golden hours

  1. medicineThe first sixty minutes after sustaining major traumatic injury, during which there is the highest likelihood that prompt medical treatment will prevent death.

    Synonyms: golden time

  2. artsA period shortly after sunrise or before sunset, during which daylight is redder and softer than when the Sun is higher in the sky.

    Synonyms: magic hour

  3. broadcastingIn Japanese television, the period between 7 and 9 pm, the equivalent of the American prime time.
  4. in pluralbroadcastingHours worked outside of normal working hours, for which additional money is paid.

    Goodbye 'golden hours': As pressure mounts for ITV to set its house in order, Andrew Dickson explains the nature of its restrictive practices and what lies at stake if the unions refuse to make concessions.

    1988, The Listener, volume 119, page 14
    1 more example

    'Golden hours' were introduced nationally in 1972, ostensibly to protect staff from having to work unsocial hours and to compensate them for 'grief' if required to do so. Formerly those working after midnight could claim three times the normal rate; […]

    2016, Jeremy Potter, Independent Television in Britain, volume 4, page 23

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe first sixty minutes after sustaining major traumatic injury, during which there is the highest likelihood that prompt medical treatment will prevent death.

nounA period shortly after sunrise or before sunset, during which daylight is redder and softer than when the Sun is higher in the sky.

Similar
Also see

Origin

Translations

French heure d'or, heure dorée
  • heure d'orthe first hour after a traumatic injury
  • heure doréeperiod shortly after sunrise or before sunset
Spanish hora dorada
  • hora doradaperiod shortly after sunrise or before sunset

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with golden hour

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

golden hour. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/golden%20hour

MLA

“golden hour.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/golden%20hour. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “golden hour,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/golden%20hour.

Source: golden hour on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.